Various types of clips or clamps for separably retaining a fuel injector or a pressure regulator in its installed position on a fuel rail are illustrated by: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,474,160; 4,475,516; 4,539,961; 4,570,602; 4,741,315; 4,768,487; 4,823,754; and 4,991,556. The Applicants' related application Ser. No. 07/648,264 filed Jan. 31, 1991 discloses a new and unique means for attaching a metal fuel tube to a molded plastic fuel rail. That new and unique means includes a one-piece metal clip. The Applicants have made the further discovery that a similar clip can provide a new and unique means for separably retaining a fuel injector or a fuel pressure regulator in a socket of the fuel rail. The present invention relates to that discovery.
The present invention enables a fuel pressure regulator or a fuel injector to be facilely and expediently assembled to and separably retained on a fuel rail with the use of only a single additional part, namely a one-piece metal retention clip. Details of the invention, along with its advantages and benefits will be seen and gathered from the ensuing description of a presently preferred embodiment. Drawings accompany this disclosure and present a presently preferred embodiment according to the best mode contemplated at this time for carrying out the invention.